Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Bishop, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bishop in the 24 hours to 4:40 pm PST (00:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 9 km (5 mi) NW, at 9:02 pm PDT on 30 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Bishop
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Bishop, CA, at 12:48 pm PDT on 13 May 2018 (19:48 UTC), 6.7 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 33 km E of Big Pine, California
- When
- 12:48 pm PDT on 13 May 2018 ()
- Where
- 46 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Bishop, CA · earthquakes near Bishop
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 68 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Deep Springs fault, 11 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3102 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bishop, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Bishop, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.8 on 2016-02-16 — about 20,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 14 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Bishop, California · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 10 km NNE of Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California · 50 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.5 4 km SSW of Bishop, California · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km N of Independence, California · 43 km SW of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 37.2095, -117.9169. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 68 km (42 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Inyo County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
| Mono County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Tulare County, CA | 134 km (83 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 39km ESE of Big Pine, CA
- 2.1 27 km SSE of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 1.7 7km SSW of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.6 28 km E of Big Pine, California
- 1.8 6km E of Big Pine, CA
- 2.4 60km ENE of Big Pine, CA
- 1.8 52km NW of Stovepipe Wells, CA
- 1.8 54 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 2.2 1km SSE of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.6 54km E of Big Pine, CA
- 1.6 5km N of Wilkerson, CA
- 1.7 55 km E of Big Pine, California
- 1.5 6km SE of Deep Springs, CA
- 1.6 48 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
- 1.7 48 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.